Nuclear Physics of Binary Neutron Star Mergers
Abstract
Binary neutron star mergers provide a unique laboratory for studying matter under conditions that cannot be reproduced in terrestrial experiments. They probe dense matter at supranuclear density, finite temperature, rapid rotation, strong gravity, and extreme neutron excess, while producing observable signals in gravitational waves, electromagnetic radiation, and, in principle, neutrinos. This review focuses on the nuclear physics of binary neutron star mergers. We discuss the dense-matter equation of state (EoS), the inspiral and merger dynamics, the structure and lifetime of the post-merger remnant, transport and dissipative processes, weak interactions and neutrino transport, and the production of heavy elements through r-process nucleosynthesis. Particular emphasis is placed on the connection between microscopic physics and multimessenger observables, including tidal deformability, post-merger gravitational-wave spectra, kilonova light curves, short gamma-ray bursts, and afterglows. We also review how observations of events such as GW170817, together with neutron star mass and radius measurements, laboratory nuclear experiments, and theoretical many-body calculations, constrain the EoS and the composition of dense matter. The goal is to summarize the current understanding of how nuclear physics controls the dynamics and observable signatures of binary neutron star mergers, and to identify the open questions that future multimessenger observations and improved nuclear theory will address.
Related
- The imprint of individual neutron star spins on ejecta, r -process nucleosynthesis, and kilonovae in binary neutron star mergers
- Charged-current neutrino opacity within the relativistic Hartree-Fock framework for astrophysical simulations of core-collapse supernovae and binary neutron star mergers
- The imprint of individual neutron star spins on ejecta, r-process nucleosynthesis, and kilonovae in binary neutron star mergers
- An efficient approach to resistive GRMHD simulations of binary neutron star mergers
- Detectability of bulk viscosity effects on post-merger gravitational wave signals from binary neutron star mergers
BibTeX
@misc{sedrakian2026nuclear,
title = {{Nuclear Physics of Binary Neutron Star Mergers}},
author = {Armen Sedrakian},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2605.26308},
eprint = {2605.26308},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.26308},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Nuclear Physics of Binary Neutron Star Mergers
AU - Armen Sedrakian
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/28
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2605.26308
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.26308
AB - Binary neutron star mergers provide a unique laboratory for studying matter under conditions that cannot be reproduced in terrestrial experiments. They probe dense matter at supranuclear density, finite temperature, rapid rotation, strong gravity, and extreme neutron excess, while producing observable signals in gravitational waves, electromagnetic radiation, and, in principle, neutrinos. This review focuses on the nuclear physics of binary neutron star mergers. We discuss the dense-matter equation of state (EoS), the inspiral and merger dynamics, the structure and lifetime of the post-merger remnant, transport and dissipative processes, weak interactions and neutrino transport, and the production of heavy elements through r-process nucleosynthesis. Particular emphasis is placed on the connection between microscopic physics and multimessenger observables, including tidal deformability, post-merger gravitational-wave spectra, kilonova light curves, short gamma-ray bursts, and afterglows. We also review how observations of events such as GW170817, together with neutron star mass and radius measurements, laboratory nuclear experiments, and theoretical many-body calculations, constrain the EoS and the composition of dense matter. The goal is to summarize the current understanding of how nuclear physics controls the dynamics and observable signatures of binary neutron star mergers, and to identify the open questions that future multimessenger observations and improved nuclear theory will address.
ER -